


Falling Ashes

by Snarky_SilverHaired_Sociopath



Category: RWBY
Genre: Anti-Hero, Anti-Hero To Villain, Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, Female Anti-Hero, Lesbian Character, Mercenaries, Villain Origin, sanity slippage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-20
Updated: 2017-12-01
Packaged: 2019-02-04 14:17:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12772839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Snarky_SilverHaired_Sociopath/pseuds/Snarky_SilverHaired_Sociopath
Summary: Ash only cared about two things.Money, and her friends.Then along came a crow, who changed everything...





	1. Current Paycheck

**Author's Note:**

> I DID NOT WRITE THIS! A friend of mine did, they do not wish to be known. Just thought I’d let you know, all the writing here isn’t mine. They agreed to let me post this as long as I didn’t take credit for writing this!

Jack Greene was escorted to his apartment with heavy security. He had multiple attempts on his life after one of the largest cases of financial fraud in Remnant history. He didn’t want to take chances on any huntsmen going after him. Public opinion was not in his favor after his acquittal. Jacques Schnee’s lawyers really were miracle workers. Too bad they couldn’t work in his favor in the court of public opinion.

Greene finally returned to his room as the security decided to do a final sweep of the building. His main guard stayed behind. “Don’t worry, Mr. Greene,” he said in a calm, professional tone. “We’ll make sure you’re safe.”

“You better,” he shouted. He was a nervous wreck at this point. After assassination attempt three, things were getting very concerning. “I’ve spent too much time trying to get out of this legal battle and I don’t want this to be all for nothing!”

“Calm down, sir,” the guard replied. “There is absolutely nothing you need to worry about. My team is the best around.”

“But what if it’s huntsmen who are after me? They fight off Grimm beasts. Do you really think your team is prepared for that?”

“I highly doubt it’s huntsmen.”

“But the reports of –”

“Mr. Greene,” he said sternly, “the paranoia is not going to help. So sit back, relax, and let my team take care of everything.” He guided Greene to his most comfortable chair to help him relax.

“Alright. Fine. I’ll cooperate.”

The guard moved away to check on the radio. He had seven teams patrolling the place with two people on each team. It was better than leaving the guards spread out alone. “This is Alpha calling all teams to report. Beta 1, do you copy?”

“Yes, sir,” Beta 1 responded. “No disturbances in our sector.”

“Good work. Gamma 1, do you copy.”

“Affirmative,” he replied. “No contact so far.”

“Copy that. Delta 1, do you copy?” This time, no response. “Delta 1, do you copy?” he said more sternly. Greene could hear that there was trouble and started tensing up again. “Delta 2. Please respond. Over.” Still nothing.

“What’s going on?” Greene finally said.

“Hopefully nothing. But we’ll get a team on it right away.” He went back to his radio. “Gamma 2 and Epsilon 2 report to Delta’s sector and search for casualties.”

“Casualties?! Are they dead?!”

“That doesn’t mean they’re dead. They could just be incapacitated, but -”

“’But’ nothing! Either way, my life is at risk! You said things would be fine!”

“Mr. Greene! Panicking will get us nowhere! Calm down and let us handle it.”

“This is Epsilon 2,” the radio chimed in, “I can confirm that Delta team is down. Looking int- UGH!”

He heard the sounds of choking on the radio. “Epsilon 2!”

“We’re sorry,” an unfamiliar male voice responded. “Epsilon 2 can’t come to the phone right now. Would you like to leave a message?”

“Who is on this line?!” The Alpha guard was livid. Which only caused Greene to clutch the arms of his chair so tightly that his knuckles became white.

“You don’t need to worry about that,” a deeper voice responded. “All you need to know is that there are four other guys around the building that are coming for you right this second.”

The voices are from Shane and Carter. Shane talks on the radio as they both stood over the bodies of the recently murdered guards. “So, to Mr. Greene, I highly recommend getting a change of pants because you’re gonna need it.”

Alpha took out his sword and gun while walking towards the door. Greene starts to panic. “You’re leaving me here?!”

“The place will be locked in. No one comes in or out! Even if we get killed, you’ll be safe. This place is made to withstand a 10 megaton Dust blast. They won’t get in.” And with that, the guard exited and the windows and doors were sealed.

Greene sank down in his chair in fear. Nothing but silence was heard at the time. Not even the sounds of people being attacked. He didn’t like it one bit. And soon, he was proved right about that.

“You know,” a young woman’s voice said, startling him, “he was right to say no one would get in or out.” Greene jumped out of his chair with his eyes wide when he turned around to find the owner of this voice. A woman named Ash. And she had a very smug smirk on her face as she walked closer. “Too bad he didn’t know who was in here. Ironic isn’t it.”

Greene picked up a bat to defend himself. His hands were still shaking as he gripped it tightly. “Stay back! Don’t make me use this!”

Ash simply rolled her eyes and pulled out her gun. “Yeah, you should never bring a bat to a gunfight. Especially when it’s two on one.”

This confused him. She was the only other in the room with him. At least, he thought she was before feeling a sharp pain in the back of his head. He was knocked to the ground by a shorter woman. Desiree, Ash’s partner. “Yeah,” she began, “It’s kind of a bone-headed move when you really think about it.”

The two women started to circle him while he was still on the ground. “Jack Greene,” Ash began. “CEO of the largest inter-kingdom bank of Remnant. Scamming people innocent people out of billions of lien. Sounds like a scummy thing to do, doesn’t it, Dee?”

“Oh, absolutely,” Desiree responded. “I’m not entirely surprised all these people have it out for you since you basically got away with everything.”

“Yeah, it’s a pretty big goal to be the ones to kill you.”

But he had a newfound confidence when he realized what it was about. The money he stole. He tried to play that to his advantage. “You know… killing me won’t get the money back. I have it all in my holdings. It’ll go to whoever I deem fit as stated in my will. I had it drawn up after the other hunters and huntresses tried to kill me. You won’t get anything out of my death.”

“One, we’ll get a lot out of your death. Not just monetary gain,” Ash said with a chuckle. “Two, it’s not even your money.”

“Please, don’t give me this stupid speech again,” he said with an annoyed tone. “’You stole money that was rightfully the people’s money. Blah, blah, blah.”

“No, I mean it literally isn’t your money anymore.”

“WHAT?!”

Desiree pulled out her scroll to show him while Ash explained. “We knew about the will, so we decided to have one of our co-workers transfer the money to every last victim of your humungous scam. It’s going back to the people as we speak.”

He watched the scroll in horror as all his fortune was being depleted. “It should be done any minute now,” Desiree added, “which means none of that ‘hard-earned’ fortune of yours won’t be going into some outside account never to be seen again. And that means we can kill you without having to worry about the money.”

Now Greene was panicking again. He had to reason with them somehow. “L-look. Please don’t kill me. Whatever it is you feel about my scam… I’m sorry. I truly am. Please don’t k-kill me.”

“Save your breath,” Ash replied. “We’re not victims of your whole scam. You see, once we hear the signal on her scroll letting us know that every last lien is back where it belongs, you’re done for. There is no talking your way out of this one, buddy.”

He backed away from them, looking for any possible weapon to defend himself with. Unfortunately, both the girls had their guns pointed at them. An amused smile grew on Ash’s face. “Ooh, I love it when they squirm.”

“Who are you people?” he said in a panicked tone.

“Well, I guess since we’re gonna kill you, it wouldn’t hurt, would it, Dee?”

“You just love to talk, don’t you?” Desiree said.

“When I can get away with it, sweetheart.” She then turned to Greene. “Well, let’s just say we are a part of a little group called Specter. A group of world-class mercenaries that are trained in taking out targets far more challenging that yourself. You can call me Ash, and this is my partner, Desiree.”

“I’d say it’s a pleasure to meet you, but why would I need to lie at this point?”

“What do you want from me?!” Greene blurted out.

“Wow, you are dumb,” Ash chimed in. “We’re here to kill you.” With that, his eyes went wide as he sweated nervously about to face his fate. “Now, Dee here wants some justice for the crimes you’ve committed against innocent people for your own gain. However, I just consider you our current paycheck.”

The alarm beeped, and the transfer was complete. Greene knew what was going to happen as the girls raised their guns and smirked. “WAIT!”

BANG!


	2. Too Good to Me

Specter had just returned to their home base after receiving the money they were charged for the bounty. They all celebrated a job well done.

“I’m telling you,” Ash started, “you should’ve seen the look on his face when we cornered him! He was bawling like a baby!” The whole team laughed along with her.

“I’m sure it was a show worthy of 505 million lien,” Shane added.

“You can certainly bet on that.”

Not long after they entered, their technology specialist, April, came in to congratulate them. “Hey, guys! I heard it was a successful run.”

“Oh absolutely!” Carter added. “They never saw us coming. That big guy tried to act all tough, but he was just as scared as his boss. I could tell.”

“Right,” Ash said, “says the guy who nearly didn’t want to go on this mission after taking one good look at all the security he had lined up.”

“I got over the fear!”

“After we practically dragged you along kicking and screaming,” Shane added.

Everyone laughed at Carter’s expense. “Oh, whatever! It wasn’t even that bad anyway,” he said to try and save face.

“Well,” April began, “I’ll be there on the next mission with you once you get back out on the field again.”

“That all sounds great and whatnot,” Ash started while putting her arm around Desiree’s waist, “but I think we’re gonna turn in. It’s been a long day.” Desiree smirked as she led her to their room.

“It’s like…5:30,” April noted.

“Oh, you know exactly what they’re gonna be doing,” Carter griped.

“You’re just jealous!” Ash retorted just before sticking her tongue out at him.

The two retreated to their room and laid down on their bed. Ash got on top of Desiree and started kissing her passionately. “Finally, alone again,” Desiree remarked after breaking off the kiss.

“Indeed, we are,” Ash responded before giving Desiree a peck on the lips. “And I get to spend time with my beautiful girlfriend.”

“Aww, don’t say stuff like that. You’ll make me blush.”

“Good. You’re adorable when you blush like that.” They both giggled as they continued their kiss.

 

* * *

 

Later that night, they were under the covers in their pajamas as Ash held the smaller woman in her arms with a small smile on her face.

“I love you so much,” Ash said, breaking the silence.

Desiree giggled and said, “And I love you.” She kissed her on the nose before holding her head to her chest. After a short silence, Desiree spoke up once again. “Do you ever want something else out of life?”

Ash’s brow furrows. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, do you want anything other than this mercenary life?”

“I mean… I still enjoy the thrill of it. It’s not something I wanna put down soon. Why do you ask?”

“I mean, I was just thinking about our last job. 505 million lien. Five goes to equipment costs, 200 goes to us, and combined with all our other jobs, we probably have enough to retire. Why don’t we?”

“Because it’s fun, Dee.”

“I guess, but… I think at some point we need to settle down. Besides, we always talked about eloping.” Desiree slowly interlocked her fingers with Ash’s and looked into her eyes.

“Well, it’s not like we can’t keep doing jobs after that.”

“It’s not the same.”

“We won’t have the rest of the team. It’ll be just the two of us.” Ash held her closer and kissed her forehead.

“Aaaash,” she mockingly whined.

“Alright, alright.” Ash thinks for a moment. “How about this: We look into buying our own personal island.”

“Ash, be serious.”

“I am! We do enough jobs, we can buy an island, get a nice mansion built,” Ash moved to whisper in her ear, “and we can be left alone to do whatever. We. Want.”

Desiree giggled feeling her lover’s breath in her ear. “Oh, I like the sound of that. Do you really mean it?”

“I absolutely do, Dee.” Their lips met again, and Ash pulled her into a deeper kiss.

A knock was heard at the door. “Come in,” Ash responded.

Carter opened the door and poked his head in. “Am I interrupting anything?”

“Yeah, you missed out on the show,” Desiree joked. “What’s up?”

He walked over to the TV and turned it on. “You guys need to see the news.”

On the news, Lisa Lavender was reporting on the recent murder of Jack Greene. Ash jumped from under the covers and hopped to the edge of the bed like a kid on Christmas. “Ooh! That’s so cool!”

“I know, right?” Carter said. “Well, it would’ve been nice to be able to take credit for it but…”

“You know why we can’t do that,” Desiree said as she crawled behind Ash to drape her arms around her.

“It would still be nice,” Ash mentioned, “but I’m still happy just seeing our work get some attention. A real step up from petty bounties.”

“All thanks to our wonderful leader,” Desiree said as she kissed her cheek.

Ash giggled as she did this. “Dee!”

“Ugh,” Carter remarked in a fake tone of disgust. “Why don’t you guys get a room?”

“We have one,” Ash quickly fired back, “And you’re trespassing in it.”

Carter threw his hands up in the air and walked out. “Fine, Fine. I’m gone. Later lovebirds.”

He closes the door and Desiree hops around her and straddles Ash’s lap. “So, are we gonna do it again?” Desiree asked.

“Absolutely. Anything for my favorite girl.”

Desiree’s smile grows. “You’re too good to me, Ash.” She drew her in for another kiss as she pushed her back down onto the bed.

“Well, you’re definitely worth it, Dee.” Ash rapped her arms around her neck and deepened the kiss.


	3. Deepest Desires

Specter met up in the mission briefing room to discuss their next target. April brought up the photo of the man and began the debriefing. “His name is Grey Johnson. He’s been a problem for government officials for quite some time. They claim that he has blackmailed several of them and currently has seven of them in his pocket. Right now, the employer has agreed to pay 6 million up-front. Five for us and one for our equipment budget. He’s going to pay five more once the job is complete.”

“Taking out one guy,” Shane remarked. “Doesn’t seem too bad. I wouldn’t say it’s worth 5 million – even with what he did.”

“He isn’t a problem,” April confirmed. “The real problem is that he often hires huntsmen to bodyguard for him.” She pulled up another photo of him with a group of huntsmen surrounding him.

“Well,” Carter began, “it’s still not nearly as intimidating as last week. They’re all out in the open. He’d have no way of defense.”

“We’re still gonna be outnumbered,” Desiree added. “That looks like he has seven huntsmen with him. Who’s to say that he doesn’t try to slip through while we’re fighting his guards.”

“One of us could go after him,” Ash replied. “The other four take on the guards while one makes sure Grey doesn’t escape. Think that’ll work?”

“It might,” April said, “but we’re dealing with trained huntsmen, not some standard bodyguarding company grunts. Even if the numbers were even, it’s still gonna be a challenge.”

“What about the Aura-piercing Dust?”

“What are you suggesting?” Shane asked.

“If we can take out a few of them from a distance, you can at least even the odds while one goes after Grey if he tries to leave.”

“It’s experimental stuff. We don’t even know if it works for sure, and there are not a lot of willing applicants who’ll help test it out.”

“Then it’ll be field testing. Worst case scenario, we have to deal with them the old-fashioned way. I’ll just take a little while longer.”

“You’ll still need to have all of them taken out,” April noted. “If you leave even one alive, they could come back for us. I doubt that they’re working for free and if we cut off their paycheck, they won’t be too happy about that.”

“I know I wouldn’t,” Ash remarked.

“So, we fight off the ones left,” Desiree added. “Now who will be the one to go after Grey?”

“I’ll do it.”

“Wait,” Carter shouted, “why can’t I do it?!”

“It was my plan.”

“Really? Just because you came up with it means you can be the one going off on their own? I demand a vote.”

“Alright. All in favor of Carter going after the coward that probably has hidden weapons on him to kill someone coming after him whenever they get close –”

“On second thought, you can do it.”

“My thoughts exactly,” Ash said with a smirk.

“Just be careful,” Desiree said, showing concern for her girlfriend.

“Relax. I’ll be fine.”

“So,” April began again, “Do we all agree to the plan?” Everyone nodded. “Alright then. His last known sighting was somewhere hiding out in Mistral. We’ll head out tomorrow and track him down.”

* * *

 The next day.

In the middle of the marketplace, Grey walked with his group of huntsmen. Desire hid out on higher ground to see where he was going. He had stayed out in the open for nearly an hour after finding him and a few members of the group were at the end of their patience.

Carter was, unsurprisingly, the first to complain about it on the comms. “How much longer until we can take this guy?”

“Be patient,” Desire responded. “I think he’s almost done here.”

“Are you sure he’ll head out into the woods?” Ash asked.

April came on first. “The intel said he’d be on his way to a cabin somewhere just outside of Mistral. With how many politicians are after him, he’s not staying out here for long.”

And like clockwork, Grey and his escorts headed out of the marketplace and into the woods. “They’re on the move,” Desire informed the others. “Shane, do you have the Dust?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Then get in position.” Desire followed them further into the woods. She alerted the others of her location. Ash was following closely behind the targets.

She looked forward and saw the cabin coming up. “He’s almost to his hideout,” she said. “If we’re going to ake him out, we better do something quick.”

Shane loaded his sniper rifle with the Dust and took aim. After concentrating, he was able to take out two before being spotted. The huntsman took aim for him just before one more is shot by Ash. “Go in,” She commanded, and they all moved in to attack the huntsman. All of them wielded large swords that could also be used for firing dust blasts from the hilt. Though they were skilled, Specter had the advantage of using both a gun and sword.

As predicted, Grey tried to head back to the cabin. Ash smirked and followed him there. He caught on pretty quickly and pulled out his gun, firing it at her. She blocked it effortlessly with her sword and got in closer to shoot him. The biggest surprise was when he kicked it out of his hand and successfully fought back. She wasn’t expecting him to be a fighter, but that just meant she wasn’t going easy on him.

Grey proved to be more competent as he almost made it into the cabin and the rest of Specter was still fighting the huntsmen. Just as soon as he opened the door, Ash tackled him and tried to stab him. He kicked away the sword before trying to push her off. “You’re a huntsman, aren’t you?”

“What makes you say that?” Grey inquired facetiously.

“No petty blackmailer can put up a fight like that.”

He managed to kick her off him and get back up. “Well, you have to make a living somehow. And hunters don’t typically get the best pay. I’m guessing that’s what you’re here for.” He tried to run over to get his gun, but Ash grabbed his leg and pulled him to the ground again.

“Something like that.” She grabbed the gun, but Grey kept her from pointing it at him. He attempted to push it away, but Ash equally pushes against him. He then tried to choke her, but his efforts are thwarted simply by her swatting her hand away. But this gave enough of a distraction to push the gun away and punch her.

This only enraged Ash and made her choke him. Her hands’ grip stressed against his Aura and it only barely kept his windpipe from getting crushed. As his air supply was getting cut off, he tried to push her away. And one of his hands touched her forehead…

_Suddenly, a vision flashed through the both of them. A vision of death, fire, and destruction. The heat of the massive embers of a once flourishing town. Civilians running in the streets, terrified of what their fate might be and more specifically, their tormentor. People fleeing were burned into cinders in an instant. Nothing but pain and misery as far as the eye could see. All that was left was the screaming… and the **ashes**._

Both of them jumped back from one another. They were equally stunned but for different reasons. Ash simply had no idea what she just saw, but she knew it had something to do with him. On the other hand, Grey was scared for a completely different reason.

“Wh… what are you?” he sheepishly asked. Ash was all too bewildered now and equally horrified of what just happened, but she was still processing it as he ran for the door to escape.

Fortunately for her, April opened the door and kicked him to the ground. The rest of Specter came in to apprehend him. Desiree saw Ash on the ground and ran straight to her with a look of concern on her face. “Ash! Are you alright?”

As she saw her comrades about to execute Grey, she jumped up and stopped them. “Keep him alive!”

“What?!” all three of them shouted.

“Don’t kill him yet!” She stomped over to him, fuming with anger.

“What do you mean?” Shane asked.

Grey frantically scrambled away from her as she got closer. “GET THAT PSYCHOPATH AWAY FROM ME!”

Carter was simply incredulous. “Ash, what’d you do to him?”

“What did you do to me?!” she shouted to Grey. “What the hell was that you put in my head?! Why would you do that?!”

“What are you talking about?” April asked.

“I’ll tell you what!” Grey interjected. “Your friend is a monster!”

“Okay,” Desiree said, “I know she can be rough on people, but she’s not that bad.”

“Not that bad for a mercenary at least,” Carter remarked.

Grey looked at all of them in silence. “You don’t know anything about who she really is, do you?”

Everyone was still confused. “What does that have to do with anything?” Ash asked, “And what does it have to do with that thing you put in my head.”

“I didn’t put that there.” Everyone was quiet now. “It’s my Semblance.”

“You’re Semblance gives people visions of apocalyptic nightmares?”

“What?” Desiree shouted, just as confused as everyone else.

“No…” Grey solemnly said. “My Semblance… shows people’s deepest desires.”


	4. Believe me

Everyone was still in shock over what Grey said. They couldn’t believe it. They couldn’t possibly believe that Ash, one of the nicest people they knew could possibly desire any of that. And Ash was still struggling with it herself.

So, Grey took the time to explain. “Whenever I place my hand on someone’s head, it will show a vision to both me and that person. It searches your subconscious, or even just beneath the surface of lies, and shows what it is a person desires most. It’s how I got all that blackmail information. Or, it’s what helped me get it. Once I knew their secrets I had an investigator find something that would verify it. And it’s not like they could deny it forever.”

“Then why did you try to look in my head?!” Ash screamed.

Grey paused for a moment. “My Semblance isn’t like most. It’s not like I can just turn it on and off at will. It’s always on. If I touch someone’s head, I’ll find something. Whether I like it or not.”

“So,” Carter chimed in, “you’re telling me that you found fire and brimstone in Ash’s deep dark desires? I mean, I know she can be a bit snarky at times, but she’s no monster.”

  
“I don’t choose what to see!” he shouted. “Everything we saw was already in that sick, twisted head of hers!”

Everyone else turned their heads to her. They didn’t know what to believe at this point. They couldn’t fathom the idea of their leader – someone who genuinely cared about each and every one of them despite her remarks – could be the monster he described.

Ash had enough of this. She refused to believe anything this man said. He… he just couldn’t be telling the truth. That much Ash knew. And she wasn’t going to put up with it any longer. “Kill him,” she calmly said, but fury could still be heard in her tone. “Kill him, now.”

Grey starts to panic. “I’m not the one you need to kill! She’s the one who will destroy everything!”

“Shut up! Just kill him right now!” This started to scare the rest of Specter. “Are you all deaf?! Kill him!” Grey wasn’t going to let this happen. He knocked Carter and Shane to the ground while catching them off guard and grabbed his gun to aim it at Ash.

However, he was stopped quickly by an enraged Desiree. She pulled out her gun and shot him several times with the Aura-piercing Dust. His body dropped to the ground in an instant. Desiree walked over to the dying man and stood over him with a death glare. The rest of Specter was shocked by the extreme change in demeanor from Desiree. Everyone… except for Ash.

Grey still tried to speak to them with his dying breaths. “Please… kill her… you have… to…”

Desiree aimed the gun at his head and pulled the trigger before holstering it once again.

“Thank you, Dee,” Ash said. “Now let’s go, guys.” As Ash walks towards the door, she noticed that the rest of them are not following her. “Guys! Let’s go!” But none of them moved. They were all concerned about her. “…guys?” Ash was deeply hurt because she knew what they were thinking. “You… you don’t seriously believe him, do you?”

April was the first to speak, “It’s not like we don’t believe you, but…” She really didn’t know what to say at that point.

“Are you kidding me?! How could you even consider that he’s telling the truth? We’ve been working together for years. You think some blackmailing criminal knows more about me than you do.”

“It’s not like we can read your subconscious,” Carter said.

“What if he’s lying and it is just something he tried to put in my head?”

“How can we know?” Carter asked.

Ash was at a loss for words. “Guys. What would make you think that I would actually be responsible for something like that? I mean, have you forgotten everything we’ve been through? Carter, when I found you, you were going nowhere in life. No one wanted to give you a chance, but I did. Because I believed you could do some great things if someone gave you the chance.”

Carter nodded. “Yeah. I guess I would’ve been screwed if you hadn’t come along.”

Ash then turned to April. “April, I remember you on your first job. You were terrified of having to kill someone. But I was there with you when you needed comforting after a job you still didn’t feel good about.”

April nervously put her hand on her arm. “You did always know how to make me feel better.”

Ash then walks closer to Desiree. “And Dee…” She put a hand on her cheek and turned her head towards her. Pain could be seen in Ash’s eyes. “You of all people should know better than anyone that I am nothing like what he said. You have to believe me. I love you with all my heart. Do you really think I’d be some kind of monster?”

After a moment of silence, Desiree finally spoke up. “I believe you… you haven’t given me a reason not to.”

Ash smiled and held Desiree closer. “Thank you!”

Desiree returned the embrace, confident in the woman she loved. “Don’t mention it.”

“Alright then,” Shane said. “I guess we should get out of here, get our money, and be done with it. I still need some money for that hot tub.”

“And I get a better TV!” Carter added.  
April laughed as she followed the guys out. But the two girlfriends stayed there for a moment longer in each other’s embrace. “And we’ve still got an island mansion to fund,” Ash added with a smile.

Desiree’s smile grew in response. “We certainly do.” They shared a quick, but tender kiss before exiting the cabin themselves.


	5. Grave Mistake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Along came a crow...

 

**One month later.**

Ozpin stood in his office looking out to the academy. Glynda worked on her scroll, planning the next mission. “Are you sure about this?” Glynda asked.

“If this goes well, it could be a huge advantage,” Ozpin replies. “We can’t afford to lose it.” The elevator opened, and Ozpin didn’t turn around. “Qrow. Glad you could arrive.

The young huntsman entered the office. “How’d you already know it was me?” Qrow remarked. “Is this one of your magic powers.”

“No. I saw your reflection in the window. They’ve been recently cleaned.”

“Oh.”

“Disrespectful as ever, Mr. Branwen,” Glynda retorted. She did not really hide her contempt for him.

“Nice to see you, too, Goodwitch.” He took the seat in front of him as Glynda scowled. “So, what was the urgent news you had for me?”

Ozpin turned to Qrow. “We may have a lead that could be the key to getting Salem.”

Qrow shot up, now very interested in what Ozpin had to say. “Really? What it is?”

Glynda pulls up the holograph display to show a picture of the criminal in question. “Would you happen to know anything about Ketseuki?”

“I know he’s a warmongering sociopath. War crimes are pretty much his specialty. What about him?”

Ozpin spoke up. “We believe that he has connections to Salem. Many of his recent actions may have been directly influenced by her. And we need you to bring him in for questioning. The only issue is that General Ironwood has recently put out a bounty for him, dead or alive. And with his reputation, I can’t guarantee that many will try to bring him in alive.”

“Jimmy once again making things difficult,” Qrow remarked. “So, you basically want me to be this guy’s bodyguard?”

“I know the proposal doesn’t sound appealing on the surface, but if we want to defeat Salem, it will be a necessary task. We need him here for questioning, to see what he knows of her plans.”

Qrow sighed. “You know I trust you, Oz. So, it’s not like I’m gonna object to it. I’ll protect the mass-murdering scumbag for you. Might even try to cash in on that bounty after you’re done with him.”

Glynda rolled her eyes at the comment. But not long after, the elevator doors opened once again. Out came a young huntress. Everyone turned to her as she adjusted her hood. “Summer,” Ozpin replied. “So glad to see you again.”

“Nice to see you as well, Professors,” Summer replied, formally.

“I’ve told you, there’s no need to be so formal.”

“Oh, sorry, Prof- I mean, Ozpin,” she corrected. “Old habits, I guess.”

“Habits your teammate seems to have broken all too easily,” Glynda says while glaring at Qrow. He simply shrugged in response.

“Actually, he’s why I’m here. I heard he was going to be here, so I wanted to speak to him. Privately.”

Qrow looked over at her, contemplating what she would have to say to him. He then looked back at Ozpin. The headmaster understood. “I’ll send you the coordinates of his last known location.” Qrow nodded and left with Summer on the elevator.

“So,” he began, “what is it you wanted to tell me?”

Summer shifted nervously in silence before bluntly speaking up. “I’m pregnant.” Qrow’s eyes widened at the news. “Tai and I found out yesterday.”

“For real?” Qrow said, incredulously. Summer nodded with a faint smile. “That’s… that’s great. I’m… happy for you, Summer.”

“Thank you. I… I’m really excited about it. Taking care of Yang made me really want to have a child of my own.”

“Are you hoping for a boy or a girl?”

“I mean, I’d like to have a boy, Tai says he wouldn’t mind if it was a girl.”

“Well, I’ll be looking forward to seeing the little guy.”

Summer giggled. “I’m glad that you are.” Qrow smiled back at her.

* * *

In the woods, Specter hiked for a few miles to find the place where Ketseuki was hiding out. “How much longer?” Carter complained. “We’ve been walking for hours.”

“No one said finding this guy would be easy,” Ash noted. “We’ll find him and once we do, that bounty is as good as ours.”

“Still can’t believe Atlas is gonna be paying us money for this job,” Shane said. “I mean, it seems pretty odd, doesn’t it?”

“Not really.”

“Can we at least take a break?” Carter said, out of breath. “I need some water… I need some rest…” He slumped against a tree and started chugging water like it was air.

“Fine, you big baby,” Ash joked. Let’s take a rest.”

Everyone took a set by the tree and unholstered their weapons to make sure they were in working order.

Desiree walked over to Ash and kissed her cheek. “Doing alright?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Ash responded. “I’ll be better once we collect this bounty.” She then turned to her and looked into her eyes. “And I’ve been looking into places where we can finally set up shop for our little island getaway.”

“I still can’t believe you’re seriously doing this.”

“Why would I lie to you? I mean, there’s retirement, and then there’s retiring in style.”

“Does anyone have any more water?” Carter shouted.

“Keep your voice down,” Shane ordered. “People can hear us.”

“There isn’t anyone out here for miles. Who’s gonna hear us?”

April looked out into the distance. “I think they might.” She pointed to a cave entrance where she saw Ket and his men, torch in one of their hands. The crew watched as the group entered the mouth of the large opening.

“Is he there?” Ash asked.

“Yep. And he’s got some friends.” April answered.

“Then we’ll take them all out. Carter, get whatever strength you can. We’re all going to take this guy out.” Ash ordered.

Inside the cave, Ketseuki was having drinks with some of his soldiers and laughing about their exploits. “You should’ve heard those girls screaming as we torched them. It was beautiful!” They all laughed along with him.

Suddenly, a Dust crystal was thrown into the group. They all looked at it before noticing Shane taking aim at it with his rifle. Ket’s eyes widened as he dove away from the impending explosion. “GET DOWN!” one of the other men said.

* * *

 

Qrow followed Ketseuki’s tracks all the way to the mouth of his cave.

_So, this is where-_

Qrow thoughts were cutoff by an explosion from inside the cave. Instinctively getting out his weapon, Qrow turned on his flashlight and charged in the cave, ready for a fight.

* * *

The explosion disorganized them long enough for Specter to ambush them. The other soldiers that were not injured tried to put up a fight but were quickly taken out. However, Ket managed to get away in the confusion, running deeper into the cave.

Ket ran as fast as he could. Suddenly, a gun shot rang through the caves and bullet pierced his leg. With a cry of pain, he feel to the cold, rocky floor as Specter strolled up to him, flashlights barley illuminating their faces.

“Please! Just let me go,” he begged.

“Sorry,” Ash said, “but the bounty on your head says, ‘dead or alive.’ And even though you seem like a pushover, with everything you’ve done, killing you would be much more satisfying.”

“WAIT!” The crew to turned to see Qrow putting away his weapon and running towards them. “Don’t kill him!”

“Uh, no way, dude,” Carter said. “We got him first.”

Qrow had to think on his feet to save Ket. “I’m from Atlas,” he lied. “General Ironwood says he actually needs him alive.”

“Well,” Ash responds, “then we’ll take him and take the bounty.”

“I need to take him though!”

“By yourself?” Ash eyed him down, suspiciously.

Honestly, that would be the kind of shoddy military decision Qrow thought James would make, but he couldn’t say that to them. “Look, you want me to call up the general, I can do it right now.” He even pulled out his scroll, hoping they wouldn’t call his bluff.

Ash was the first to call him out. “You know what? I don’t think you’re from Atlas. Or even another mercenary. I bet you’re working for this guy! You’re trying to save him!”

“I absolutely am not!” Qrow defended.

“Then why are you so insistent on keeping him alive?” Shane asks. “He doesn’t need to be alive for the bounty.”

“Look, I don’t want any trouble.”

“Well, that’s exactly what you’re gonna get if you don’t back off.”

As Shane and Qrow argued, Desiree turned to see Ket hobbling away.

”Guys!” Desiree pointed. “He’s getting away!”

“I knew it.” Ash and the rest of her crew took out their weapons. “You guys deal with this guy, I’m going after Ket!”

Ash goes after him and Qrow tries to do the same before being stopped by Specter. Carter is the one to step up first to stop him. Qrow pulls out his sword to intimidate them. The mercenaries are not impressed. “Nice sword,” Carter says. “Not very intimidating, though.”

“Try anything, and I’ll show you how intimidating it can be!”

April tried shooting him, but Qrow effortlessly blocked every shot with grace and precision. The crew then surrounded Qrow, their smaller swords weren’t much, but their mobility helped. Qrow had to pull out the big guns and converted to his scythe. Carter was in the middle of charging at him, but stopped when he saw Qrow’s scythe.

“Okay, w-wait.” Carter back up. “That actually is pretty intimidating!”

Taking his opportunity, Qrow struck at the terrified Carter, landing a direct hit to his chest, cutting into it. The strike caused Carter fall back, land his neck on a rock, killing him instantly.

”Carter!” Shane shouted.

Desiree and April covered their mouths with their hands in shock. Qrow knew that his Semblance had a hand in it. And he felt that this wouldn’t be the first death it caused. After a momentary panic and grief, they went into shaky fighting stances, still nervous about fighting the huntsman. “Come on, guys,” Desiree said. “We can take him.”

* * *

Ash was still giving Ketseuki chase. She found that he was surprisingly fast for a man with a leg wound, but she was determined to get the bounty. She followed him into some nearby caves as he still attempted to plead for his life. “Stay back!” he shouted.

Ash shot at Ket, who failed to dodge the shots. His Aura took some of them on, but one of them knocked him off balance. He dropped in the caves and she walked over to him.

”Please, have mercy,” Ket begged pathetically.

His whimpers annoyed her and his pleas for mercy were falling on deaf ears. “Sorry, buddy, but my friends and I have a bounty to collect on.” She aimed the gun at his head and pulled the trigger.

* * *

Qrow’s fight with the rest of Specter intensified as he attempted to combat the three remaining mercenaries. The girls tried attacking him from both sides, but he Desire knocked away from him with the butt of his staff, April tried to land a hit on him. She swipes her sword at him and his scythe knocked her sword out of her hand. She tried shooting him, but he knocked it out of her hand and punched her knocking her on her back, depleting her Aura.

Desiree looked up only to see Shane being knocked down again by Qrow, reducing his Aura to dangerous levels. He tried desperately to shoot Qrow, but the huntsman brought his scythe’s blade down on his head before he could do so. April tried to take him from behind, he swung the scythe around and sliced her stomach with the blade. April, looked down at the wound and whimpered before falling to the ground, lifeless.

Desiree stood up as Qrow retracted his scythe and went after Ket. As she rushed towards Qrow, he turned around and his sword impaled her. “What… are… you…?” With that, she fell to the ground. Qrow regretted having to kill them, but he had bigger problems to deal with.

“Dee?!” He heard. He looked over to see Ash dragging Ketseuki’s dead body.

“Oh, no…” He said in a low voice. Not only did he see that Ket was killed, but their leader had witnessed the killing of her team.

“DEE!” She dropped the man’s body and ran over to her girlfriend. She held Desiree in her arms, already on the verge of tears. “Dee, stay with me, please!” Desiree was barely holding on to life. Her eyes started to close as tears started to fall from Ash’s. “Desiree!” It was no use. Desiree’s final breath left her. “Please...don’t leave me…” Ash whispered.

As Ash was sobbing over Desiree’s body, Qrow backed away to get out his scroll and let Ozpin know the mission was a failure. But that’s not the only reason he was devastated. He didn’t want to kill any of them, but they left him no choice.

“ **YOU SON OF A BITCH**!” He turned back around to see Ash’s sorrow turned to pure, white-hot rage. And that’s not the only thing he noticed. Her hands began to glow, and she held one of them up to him as if she was aiming. He started to have a bad feeling about what was about to happen. A sudden burst of energy was shot from it and he barely dodged the blast. He then realized the incredibly grave mistake he just made.

 

 

 

 


	6. You. Are. Dead.

Ash ran up to Qrow and fought him hand-to-hand. He put up a good fight, but her rage made her very difficult to attack. That, and the possibility that she could shoot a death laser at any moment. As loathed as he would be to admit it, Qrow was actually scared of this woman now. He had to think of a way out of this before she killed him. He looked over and saw the caves that Ketseuki retreated into and took a B-line right for it. However, Ash was not too far behind.

He tried using her rage against her. using his broadsword to try and trip her during her erratic running towards him. However, she compensated by using that rage to keep going. She even managed to land a few hits on him, once giving him a punch so hard that it forced him into a wall. His Aura was able to protect him, but it was nearly depleted from the one strike. She was more powerful than he thought.

Ash saw that he was almost done for and walked slowly towards him as he tried to pick himself back up. The seething anger was more than evident on her face even now.

He lowered his protective Aura to preserve energy for his Semblance as he ventured further into the cavern. He had to think of a way to trap her. He went across a narrow rock bridge and barely made it across. Unfortunately for Qrow, he missed a stalagmite in the dark and stepped on it, injuring his foot. His trap for her had worked against him.

She then began to slowly walk across the narrow bridge as she once again charged up another blast, but he already saw the crackling energy in her hand. He also saw the stalactites from up above. He had his plan. He brought up his sword and used it as a shield. Ash, thankfully, didn’t see what he was trying to do.

“You. Are. Dead!” she shouted just before taking aim.

She was only halfway across the bridge before firing one blast at Qrow. He deflected it up with his sword and it the stalactite. It fell right in front of her and the bridge collapsed right under her. She screamed as she fell into the pit.

Qrow stood up, using his sword as a crutch and looked down into the darkness of the chasm to see if he could see Ash, but he saw nothing. He heard nothing either. As far as he could tell, she was dead. But he was in no condition to go down there and make sure of that. So he transformed into his crow form and flew away, knowing his foot was going to be sore for days even now.

* * *

Back at Tai’s home, Summer helped to bandage up Qrow’s injured foot. He winced in pain as she disinfected the wound. “You alright, tough guy?”

He looked over at her with very sardonic expression. “Yeah, I’m doing just fine. I normally step on stalactites. OW!” He screamed at the application of the cotton pad, which Summer applied roughly.

“No need to be like that about it.”

He chuckled. “And here I thought you would be the nice one of the group.” Qrow smiled at her, and Summer smiled back at him. “Thanks for doing this, Summer.”

“No need to thank me. We’re teammates. Remember?”

“Yeah… teammates.”

Summer finished wrapping the bandages and elevated his foot so he could rest it. “There. You’re all set.” Qrow silently nodded. “You told Oz about what happened?”

“Yeah… I can’t believe I failed. This could’ve meant something big.”

“I wouldn’t beat myself up over it if I were you. You’re only human.”

“I know, but… I can’t help but think of that girl. And her friends…”

“They were going to kill you. That couldn’t be helped.” She sat down next to him and rested her arm on his shoulder.

Qrow couldn’t help but think of Ash reaction to Desiree. “She had someone she loved…one of the girls there. She called her Dee. She clearly meant something to her… I don’t blame her for what she did…”

Summer was now almost as distraught as Qrow. She knew what losing a love was like. She already saw how Tai took losing Raven. And if he saw her killed… he wouldn’t blame him for doing something drastic. “It couldn’t be helped, Qrow,” she quietly said.

Qrow sighed. “…yeah. Right…”

Summer comforted him as he sat there, contemplating what he possibly could’ve done differently. “Well, look on the bright side,” Summer said, breaking the silence. Qrow looked incredulously at her. “At least Ironwood let you have the bounty.”

He chuckled again. “Yeah. I guess that’s one good thing out of this terrible situation.”

“Well, I still think you made the right decision. As unfortunate as it is… it really couldn’t be helped. I’m just glad you’re alive.”

“…well, I’m glad to be alive.”

* * *

An elderly man went out into the woods enjoying a lovely nature walk.

As he was enjoying the beauty of nature, her heard rustling in the bushes by the trail. He looked over and saw a badly bruised and bloodied woman crawling out of a small cave opening behind the bushes. She barely made it out before collapsing and passing out. He ran over to the young woman and turned her on her back. He didn’t recognize her, but he couldn’t leave her out here on her own. He was rather strong for a man of his age, so he carried her over his shoulder back to his village to get her medical attention.

 

 


	7. Nothing but Ash

_“Sweetheart,” Ash’s mother yelled in a panicked voice, “we have to go! Where’s your father?” Ash couldn’t respond as the woman started grabbing all essential supplies to evacuate._

_“Grace!” a male voice shouted out. Ash’s father walked out with more bags, “Which side are they coming from?”  
_

_“Southeast. We need to hurry!” A pack of Grimm was closing in on them as they spoke. “Do you have everything, Ash?”  
_

_She nodded. And soon, the sounds of the beasts and people screaming became louder. “Alright,” her father said, “let’s go!”_

_With that, they all rushed out the front door as they grabbed everything they could in backpacks. They saw the Grimm ransacking the village as they emerged. People were dying as they ran. While her parents tried to run away, horrified by the scene, Ash couldn’t help but watch. The death and destruction… intrigued her.  
_

_Her parents turned back and saw Ash frozen in place. They assumed she was paralyzed with fear, but that couldn’t have been further from the truth. “ASH! Let’s go!” her father yelled. And she didn’t waste any time going with them. But she took glances behind her as they left.  
_

_When they were at a safe distance, they slowed down and looked out to their past home. Ash’s parents couldn’t help but get tears in their eyes from seeing their home destroyed. The place where they lived their whole lives, destroyed by Grimm beasts within a matter of minutes. Seeing many friends fail to make it out alive. It was a truly heartbreaking moment for them.  
_

_However, Ash had a different reaction. She didn’t know what she felt about it. But looking out at the destruction of her home village, buildings going up in flames, Grimm slaughtering innocents? It made her feel… good._

* * *

Ash woke up, completely exhausted, lying in a bed that wasn’t hers in a house she didn’t recognize. She barely opened her eyes to look around. When she sat up, she realized she was covered in bandages. But whoever fixed her up decided to let her have some modesty. Not that she was particularly shy, but it was nice to know. But it wasn’t easy to get up. He body was aching all over. She tried to recall what happened, but she couldn’t help but notice her dream.

Suddenly, an old man walked into the room to check on her. He noticed that she was finally awake. “Oh, good,” he said. “I was wondering when you were going to wake up.” He walked over to a chair near the bed. “You were pretty badly beaten up. It’s really a miracle that you’re still alive.”

All Ash could do was nod and quietly say, “Yeah… thanks.”

“You’re very welcome. I couldn’t, in good conscience, leave you there all alone.” She turned away and looked at all her bandages. There was even a splint that kept her broken leg in place. “You were lucky I found you when I did. I don’t know if you would’ve made it if I hadn’t.”

“…lucky…”

“I mean, you were close to death at that point. I’m surprised you made it as far as you did. You are rather resilient.” He chuckled to loosen things up, but Ash did not respond. She only sat quietly while looking at her injuries. His smile faded as he noticed this. “So,” he continued, “do you remember anything about what happened before you were injured.”

“…I’m not sure.”

“After I found you, I requested we send in a search party to check the caves for anyone else you might’ve been with. We found...four bodies. Two men and two women, about your age. Does that… ring any bells at all?”

As a matter of fact, it was. She remembered finding her friends dead. She remembered watching the man with the giant sword… kill Desiree. Her one true love. She remembered it quite vividly. And she remembered fighting the man in the caves before it collapsed.

However, the one thing that confused her… was her reaction to these memories. There was no anger like at that moment. She didn’t feel sadness. Not even as she recalled holding Desiree in her arms as she died, sobbing over her body. She couldn’t feel any of those emotions now. And she wasn’t sure why.

So, she lied and simply shook her head in response. “Well, if you do remember anything, let me know. I’ll be out going out for the day, but I have some water for you here.” He pointed out the glass on the nightstand and she looked over to it. “Rest up as much as you can. If you ever need anything from the rest of the village once you get back on your feet, they’d be happy to help.” And with smile, he walked out.

This gave her some time to think. For the next few days, the main thing that was on her mind was the dream. The memory from her teenage years wasn’t something she thought about in a long time. But she soon recognized the scene… the vision that Grey gave her. It was just like her past memory. And from what she remembered, she realized that the destruction was enticing her as she looked back.

She didn’t know why it made her feel that way, but it did. She liked it. Maybe Grey was right after all. Maybe the carnage is something she did want. She always did enjoy the killing more than the rest of her group. But what kept her restrained? Then she realized it. It was Desiree. Ash never really cared for many people before meeting her. She was the one person she truly loved. And the promise of a life with her kept her held back. But if it was really true love… then why was the destruction what she saw as her deepest desire?

* * *

A few days later, the old man was coming home from work. He entered his home only to see Ash slowly descending the staircase. “Oh, I see you’re up and about,” he said with a smile. “Glad to know you’re feeling better.”

In a monotone voice, she simply replied, “Much better.” Something that kind of creeped out the old man. “They were my team.”

“…What?”

“Those bodies… they were my team. Shane… Carter… April… “ She took an even longer pause and the man leaned in closer. “…and Desiree. I loved her so much…”

There was a moment of pity for her when he realized she was talking about a lover. “I’m, sorry for your loss.”

However, her lips started to form a ghost of a smile in response. “She made me so happy… and I did everything to make sure she was to. She meant the world to me… or so I thought.”

Now, the man was extremely baffled. “Or so you thought?”

“I never wanted that cuddly, domestic life,” she continued. “I never wanted to be tied down… Grey showed me that. You don’t know him, but… he opened up my eyes to something very important… What I truly wanted…” Her smile only continued to grow.

His confusion only continued to rise. He could tell there was something wrong with her. But at that moment, he could not possibly know how bad it was. “And… what did you want?”

She was silent for a moment before speaking up once again. “I want… to see misery… agony… despair… destruction… I want to make humanity beg for mercy… to watch them squirm as the futilely pleaded for release… and then to leave nothing but ash in its place.” The old man was now starting to realize how deranged this woman was, and now his face was ashen as his blood drained from his face. “All this time, I thought that Desiree was what I needed in my life, and only now do I realize that she was holding me back.”

Now she was smiling like a bona fide lunatic as she slowly walked closer to him. Nothing but her voice and the eerie creaking of her bare feet on the floorboards could be heard in his house. He noticed that her hand was now glowing. At this point, “terrified” would not be a strong enough word to describe what he felt. “If not for that huntsman who killed my… friends,” she added, “I probably would never be able to indulge in these desires.” She raised her hand to him and aimed it right at him.

“What are you doing?!” She didn’t respond. She only let her semblance power up enough to kill him.

“Thank you so much for helping me,” she serenely told him. “In both ways.” She saw his confusion through the absolute terror in his face. “For rescuing me from the woods… and being the first victim in my new life.”

“WAIT!” She fired a blast, and the man turned to a pile of ashes on impact. And it made her feel better than Desiree ever could. She giggled like a girl half her age. Giddy at what destruction she was about to bring.

She stepped outside into the peaceful village and smiled as she charged up her Semblance once again. She aimed her hand up to the buildings and fired a beam right through all of them, watching the buildings burn down as they were swiped with the burst of energy. People were frightened of her. Many started to run from the madwoman. Others tried to fight her only to be turned to piles of ash by shorter bursts of energy.

Ash’s giggling had now turned to cackling. She felt unstoppable. She literally destroyed any opponent who tried to stop her. She made sure she killed everyone in that village. Men, women, and children were targeted. She heard Grimm beasts coming along soon enough and she decided to get up to higher ground to watch the carnage unfold. As the animals tore up the whole village, she could only use one word to describe it: “Magnificent.”

* * *

Ash walked down the road to find some more signs of civilization to ruin. She was ecstatic. She had a new lease on life and she was never going back. She thought of all the atrocities she could commit. She eventually came across a cargo truck. She stood in the middle of the road as she waited for it to come closer. She had a psychotic smirk as she raises her hand to aim. She fired a blast and killed the driver. She stepped out of the way to allow the truck to crash into a tree. “Bullseye,” she said to herself.

She walked over to the truck and noticed a certain label: Schnee Dust Company. This could come in handy, she thought as she went around to the back of it to burn open the locks. She saw the crates inside marked “EXPERIMENTAL”. She took it out and tries to use some of it. It turned out that this type of Dust allowed the user to levitate. She definitely was going enjoy using this.

She floated above the plains, feeling like a goddess, but then she imagined flying over a wave of destruction. A sea of fire and brimstone as far as the eye could see. She would be able to rain down upon it all with a barrage of lasers destroy even more.

She then thought she would make this dream a reality. She would be feared throughout Remnant, a self-proclaimed Goddess of Destruction. Though after they saw her power, she didn’t think it would be only “self-proclaimed” for long. Everyone would know the power that Ash held. But even on her own, one person isn’t enough. Show she thought to herself with a twisted grin…

“I’m gonna need an army.”

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The friend who wrote this now has an AO3 account! Go check them out! (http://archiveofourown.org/users/Snarky_SilverHaired_Sociopath/pseuds/Snarky_SilverHaired_Sociopath)


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